Not Exactly Home
by b u b b l e t r a v e l e r
Summary: Okay, Dorothy takes a...um...wrong turn on the way home, and ends up in a very unexpected place...rr, please!
1. Definately Not Kansas

**Title**: Not Exactly Home

**Author**: b u b b l e t r a v e l e r

**Disclaimer: **To my extreme displeasure, I do not own Wicked, or any of the fabulous characters.

**Description**: Dorothy takes a "wrong turn" on the way home from Oz, and ends up in the last place anyone would suspect... Better than it sounds, R/R.

**Author Note**: I'M GOING TO SEE WICKED! AHHH! Hehe,sorry, just had to do that.

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place..."

Those were the words that flew through Dorothy's head as she clicked her heels together, under the instruction of Glinda. They started out as a simple chant, but slowly turned into a fast, almost magical plea. Suddenly, she heard the wind howling around her, and thunder exploded off in the distance. Dorothy was thankful that she had clamped her eyes shut from the very beginning. She heard Toto whimper...she clutched him like he was her only lifeline. Then, she began to feel as though she was falling thousands of feet, never stopping. She was now wishing that she had hurried up with the Wizard and taken his balloon. It felt as though she was back in the cyclone, only going the opposite direction.

And as suddenly as it had started, it all stopped.

Dorothy opened her eyes, and looked around. This most definitely wasn't Kansas. It was a lovely, fall day. A multitude of colorful leaves lay scattered on the ground. There were many people running around, all wearing the strangest blue and white striped outfits. Some were hugging, laughing...it was clear that they were having a good time. Toto ran off and began sniffing at a few.

It was then that Dorothy noticed the huge buildings off in the distance. She looked toward the entrance, and saw a huge, stone arch that read "SHIZ UNIVERSITY." It must be some sort of school, she thought. What else could it be?

A very loud, but almost...grandmotherly voice rose up over the talking: "Would all girls please report to the main hall as soon as possible for room assignments? Thank you." Dorothy assumed she should go; after all, she was a girl, and maybe somebody there could help her.

So Dorothy picked up Toto, and began to follow the long group of girls who processed into the entrance. Maybe she should hide behind one of them...she quickly picked out a tall, thin girl, who was wearing a dark blue suit, with a matching beanie hat. She quickly began to follow...hopefully she wouldn't notice her.

Dorothy thought too soon. The girl stopped, and Dorothy ran into her back. Should she run? Maybe this girl would be nice and help her out.

When she was finally turned around, it took everything in Dorothy not to scream.


	2. Close Encounters with the Green Kind

**Chapter 2**

Dorothy was glued to the spot, clutching Toto. The girl was the last person that Dorothy had expected to see. She dressed fine, and looked like a normal human being. Except for the skin. Her skin was a brilliant shade of emerald green; the exact same shade as the Witch of the West's. Her nose was a little long, another characteristic of the Witch. And her eyes...two, black orbs with a look of determination that made you feel weak and defenseless.

Indeed, it was the Wicked Witch of the West.

Dorothy wanted to run, but found that her legs couldn't move. Could the witch have put a spell on her? She was eying her up and down, almost searching her for something. Finally, she spoke.

"You look a little young for college. Do you live around here or something?" she asked. Her voice wasn't hard, or cruel like had been back when she was cursing her in her castle. It was soft, and gentle, and it seemed as though the look of determination in her eyes synchronized into her voice. Dorothy knew she had to respond...after all, the Witch seemed friendly enough.

"Er...No, I don't live around here. I am going to college, though. It's my first year..." Dorothy lied. Maybe she could fool the Witch.

"Oh!" the Witch said. "You're welcomed to follow me if you like. It's my first year here, too. I don't get a lot of company, so it'd be nice to have someone to talk to." The Witch smiled, but it quickly turned into a frown. "But you don't mind my skin color, do you?" she asked. "Because I understand completely if you do" she said. The look in her eyes remained the same, but Dorothy could see that sadness was now concealed behind it. "Goodness me, no!" Dorothy responded. Dorothy never had minded people's skin color. She could have cared less.

But people in Kansas weren't always like that. Once, Uncle Henry had hired a man named George. George was...different. It wasn't his thoughts, or the way he dressed. It was his skin color. He was blacker than night itself. Dorothy had really enjoyed him. He was a pleasant, outgoing man, who always had something interesting to talk about.

Not everyone in town was as accepting of George as Dorothy and her Aunt and Uncle were. Once, when Henry had gone into town to pick up some supplies, he was attacked on his way home by a group of white men. They were furious at his hiring of a black man, and taken the goods he had purchased. Uncle Henry's view of these...niggers, as he had cursed them, changed radically. He blamed the attack on George. Henry went home and fired him, and told him to never come back. Dorothy and Aunt Em were disgusted at Henry, but Aunt Em later decided it was for the best. Neither of them were ever able to convince Dorothy to think the same.

"Hey, are you okay?" the Witch asked her. Dorothy realized she must have blanked out, thinking about Kansas and George. "Yes, I'm fine..." Dorothy replied weakly. She thought her arrival in Munchkinland was odd, but this...this was very perturbing.

"You know, you never mentioned your name," the Witch said. My name, Dorothy thought. She had to think quickly; should she give her real name, or not? Maybe giving her real name would be for the best.

"Dorothy," she said. "Dorothy Gale, and this is my dog Toto." She picked up Toto's paw and moved it around, to make it look like he was waving.

"Nice to meet you, Dorothy, Toto!" the Witch responded. "My name is Elphaba. Elphaba Thropp."


	3. Horrible Morrible

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: I am SO sorry that I haven't updated! I've been very busy lately, and started chapter 3, but never got to finish it; I do many extra-cirriculars at school, and they're very time consuming. I finally finished it, so enjoy! Oh, and THANK YOU for your reviews! I appreciate each and every one of them; please keep it up!**

Dorothy looked around at all the different girls, terror filling her heart. They all looked so much older than her, she knew she'd be unable to fool them into thinking she was a college student.

She and Elphaba hadn't received a very warm welcome. People noticed Elphaba first, and judged her quickly. Elphaba smiled at them, and tried to start conversation, only to get the cold shoulder in return. Dorothy tried to talk to them, but they judged her by her being with Elphaba. It was definitely not a good start to things.

Soon after, Dorothy met Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose. The Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda had told her that only bad witches were ugly. Perhaps Glinda was wrong, Dorothy thought. Nessa was beautiful, however, confined to a wheelchair. Elphaba's father had wheeled Nessa into the Entrance Hall, and barely noticed Elphaba and completely and utterly failed to notice Dorothy. He then presented Nessa with a gift: Jeweled Shoes. Completely identical to the Ruby Slippers, but silver.

Dorothy's heart leapt out to Elphaba, who watched as Nessa fussed over her beautiful, new shoes. Her father hadn't even given her a kiss goodbye. Dorothy couldn't believe that her father would shun her because of her skin color; he couldn't possibly be _that_ cruel, could he?

Dorothy then glanced down at her feet...she noticed the slippers were gone, and somehow, her feet had guided themselves back to her plain black shoes that she'd had prior to her arrival.

As Dorothy surveyed the room for the umpteenth time, her eyes fell upon what appeared to be the word "perfect" personified. This girl was flawless. She was wearing the most beautiful, pearly white suit, with a matching pocketbook. She had long locks of blonde hair, and two twinkling blue eyes. She was lounging on one of her many luggage pieces, and many others were doing the same. They all seemed to be laughing and having a good time.

Though this was Dorothy's first encounter with this flawless girl, she looked undeniably familiar. Nobody in Kansas looked like that; there were no young adults in Kansas, only the middle-aged or beyond.

Just as Dorothy was going to talk to Elphaba about the perfect girl, she heard a loud voice interrupt.

"Welcome, new students, to Shiz University!" it cried. Dorothy turned to the entrance; a rather odd woman had entered. She wore an elegant, red gown, and grasped a clipboard in her hand. "I am Madame Morrible, Headmistress here at Shiz University," she introduced herself. This woman, although seemingly friendly, had a strange air, Dorothy also had a sense of mistrust for this woman. She could not explain it, nor could she shake the feeling away.

This Morrible character babbled on for a bit more, when she noticed Nessarose. She came over, and spoke to her, commenting on her beauty. Morrible then noticed Elphaba, and did a poor job of converting a snort of laughterinto a cough. Then, her eyes fell to Dorothy.

"You're a small thing!" Morrible commented in a sickly sweet voice. "What is your name?" Dorothy had to think fast on this one. She felt safe, giving only her first name, but she was uncomfortable giving her last...maybe she could pass as Elphaba's other sister, and that she was not included on Morrible's list.

"Dorothy. Dorothy Thropp," she said, rather timidly. Morrible stared. "You don't seem to be on my list, are you related to the other two Thropp's here?" Morrible asked.

Here goes nothing, Dorothy thought. "I'm Elphaba's younger sister, and I was registered for college here, however, my application came a few days later than my older sisters; I received a letter of acceptance, perhaps I was excluded from your list?" "Perhaps you were, my dear! I do remember hearing mention of three..." and that was all that Dorothy could remember of Morrible's speech, for she herself was amazed at how convincing her lie seemed to be. Morrible seemed to be in some sort of a trance, almost everything was going perfectly. But how?


End file.
